Locket having a hinged leaf with a marginal opening facing said hinge



March 5, 1963 E. s. DoNLE 3,079,771

LocxET HAvINc A HINGED LEAF WITH A MARGINAL I OPENING FACING SAID HINGE Filed Nov. 9, 1959 BY HM X/m Nev. s, tsss, i claim.

fore in that 'the hinged leaves ornied as part of the asserohly thereof are adapted to be freely pi. d "ithin the iront and rear covers of the locket. Prior to the 1nstent invention, loclret constructions were known that utilized hinged leaves having windows for displaying pictorial or illustrative matter therein and these usually ineluded the common type of hinge member that was bent to receive a hinge pin therethrough. It was found that ait-er assembling the locltet leaves that had plating applied to the finished construction thereof, the plating would harden the metal, and the hinge members there er were not easily adaptable for being loe-nt around the hinge pin. As a result, the interiorly positioned leaves did not freely pivot within the prior known loclcet confictions, thereby resulting in faulty operation and tally resulting in the hinge members thereof seing she-ered from their leaves.

The interior leaves of the prior known locliets were also 111 erv operations. This, the prior art devices were not e complicated in structure, hut were consi-:ier-

The interior leaves of operation from a one-piece blank, the stamping operation forming appropriately positioned windows fold line tl e sections or" the es thereafter being folded to the iinished position to eornplee th assembly t'.ereof.

L 3 t is object of errly positioned hinged leaves that are siro `-e and that are mounted for free pi 'of in the locker assembly.

Another ohiect of the present inve e lofiret construction having interiorly posi. leaves, each of which is formed with spaced and retaining,7 pictorial or illustrative matter tl erein.

Still another ohieci oi the present invention is to provide a locicet construction having interiorlv positioned hinged leaves, each or the leaves being provided t a. e e

ter therein,

to retain pictorial or lillustrative matter is, eac:l of the sections being o including eripherel margins that neve oldeoie ge portions formed on the exterior e "ges thereof whereby, when the sections are folded along their fold line, the edge portions overlap and cooperate with the peripheral rnnrgins to forni a marginal space having opening facing the hinge pin of the loclret construction.

Stili another obiect is to provide interior projections the marginnl portions of a hinged lent member that are forme .e stamping operation and that are adapted in position in the leaf rnernher. 1

ther objects, tentures advantages ot the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds ,vnen considered connection with the accompanying trative drawings.

in the drawings which illnstrnte best rhode presently contemplated by rneor carrying ont rnv invention:

Fit, l is e view 'n perspective showing the toeliet con struction embodied in the present invention in the closed position thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspcc in the open position positioned hinged leaves;

3 is a perspective view of oie of the interior leaves, a ortion thereof being broken away;

. is e plan view of one of the interior leaves after the locket construction showing the interiorl'y J is e fragnentery View in perspective of a corner erio leef showing the novel hinge construction 7ertron;

1 teken along line in 2, the loclcet construction or assembly present invention is illustra ed therein ti' As shown rnore clearly Nn or nssen'ihiy i@ includes d s rear cover Ir-l that nre preferably i of rnetel material, the exterior surtney he etched or embossed and then orntive en ior for the iocllet asserts ine rear cover i4 is shown formed with 't so having an opening i5 formed thereted to receive a chain of conventional style and bly opstanding in, the enclin' ein. f"

ound the from the n is an a manner. Also oe erige thereof e element or a f the friction latch formed on the edge l, the er:-

rtends beyond the catch for engagey l@ which includes d e front and l i i is constructed to fold in the manner oi a book, and to carry out this purpose, the front u cover is formed with a perpendicular ange 24, While the rear cover is correspondingly formed with a perpendicular ange 26.

In order to hingedly interconnect the front and rear covers 12 and 14, each of the covers is formed with a plurality of spaced hinge members. As shown in FIG. 2, the front cover 12 includes spaced hinge members 2S that are joined to the flange 24 of the front cover l2. The rear cover 14 is similarly formed with spaced hinge members'30 that are joined to the flange 26 of the rear cover 14, the hinge members 28 and 30 being bent to receive a hinge pin 31 therethrough. As shown, the hinge members 28 and 30 are of conventional style and are preformed to define an opening for receiving the hinge pin 31 therein. As is usual in pivoted elements of this type, one set of the hinge members is bent into firm engaging relation with the pin 31 so that the pin will be prevented from in advertent removal therefrom. The other set of hinge members loosely engages the hinge pin 31 wherein relative pivotal movement of the front and rear covers 12 and 14 is provided.

Pivotally mounted within the confines of the front and rear covers 12 and 14 are a plurality of inner leaf members, each of which is generally indicated at 32. As shown in FIG. 2, only two leaf members 32 are mounted in the locket assembly 10, although it is understood that only one of the inner leaf members 32 may be utilized or, if desired, more than two may be incorporated in the assembly without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 7, one of the leaf members 32 is shown in detail, and i-t is understood that all of the leaf members are similarly constructed. The leaf member 32 is also preferably formed of a metal material and is adapted to be etched or embossed and then plated for decorative purposes. As shown in FIG. 4, the leaf member 32 is formed from a one-piece blank member and is adapted to be stamped in a single stamping operation to define complementary sections indicated at 34 and 36. The complementary sections 34 and 36 are separated by fold lines 3S and 4t), the fold lines 3S, 40 being spaced so that in the folded position of the assembly the sections 34 and 36 are sufficiently spaced from each other to define a space therebetween for receiving pictorial or illustrative matter therein. In order to enclose the space between the sections 34 and 36, oppositely positioned foldable edges 42 and 44 are formed on the section 34, while oppositely positioned foldable edges 46 and 48 are formed on the section 36. Outwardly extending locking projections 49 and 5G are formed on the edges 42 and 44, respectively, and are adapted to be folded over :the corners of edges 46 and 48, respectively, to lock the sections 34, 36 in the folded position thereof. Also formed in the sections 34 and 36 are windows S1 and 52, respectively, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the windows 51, S2 are adapted to be aligned when the sections 34 and 36 are moved to the folded position thereof. Although four windows are shown formed in each of the sections, it is understood that a single window may be formed therein, or two or three windows may also be formed therein, depending upon the manner in which the assembly is to be employed.

The windows 51 and S2 occupy a substantial portion of the central area of each of the sections 34, 36, and as such define a plurality of peripheral margins. Thus, outer margins 54, S6, 58 and 66 are defined by the windows 51, While outer margins 62, 64, 66 and 68 are defined by the windows 52. The windows 51 are also spaced to define inner margins '70, 72 and 74 in the section 34, and corresponding inner margins 76, 78 and 80 are defined by the windows 52 in the section 36.

V`In assembling the Vlocket construction, the sections 34 and 36 are folded along lines 33, 40 to the position shown in FIG. 3. The edge 42 is then folded to overlap the edge 46, thereby sealing the upper edge of the leaf 32 land is held in position thereby by the locking projection 49. Similarly, the edge 44 is adapted to overlap the edge 43 to seal the lower edge of the leaf member 32, the locking projection 50 being rolled over the edge 43. Since the leaf member 32 is folded along the fold lines 3S and 40 and is provided with closed sides defined by the edges 42, 46 and 44, 48, an interior space is formed as defined by margins 54, 62; 56, 68; 53, 66; 70, 76; 72, l and '74, 86, the space having an'open edge that is adapted to extend along the edge facing the hinge pin 31 when the inner leaf 32 is mounted in position in the locket. In this position, the windows 51, 52 are in communication and are adapted to display pictorial or illustrative matter therethrough that has been inserted into the space defined by the peripheral and inner margins.

As illustrated more clearly in FIG. 3 the section 34V is foreshortened with respect to the section 36 so that in the folded position of the leaf member the outer edge of the marginal portion 68 is exposed. Since this,Y is the side of the leaf member that faces the hinge pin 31vand in which the space for receiving the pictorial matter formed, a shelf Vis defined for aiding in inserting thev pictorial matter within the interior space. Furthermore,by foreshortening the section 34, any possible contiict/by the marginal portion 56 with the hinge assembly is avoided.

In order to effectively retain the pictorial or illustrative matter that is located within the space defined by the marginal portions of the sections 34 and 36, inwardly extending projections 82 are formed in one of the margins of the section 36 and, as shown in FIG. 4, are located in margin 63. Elongated recesses 84 are further formed in the interior margins 74, and, as shownin FIG. 7, cooperate to divide the folded'leaf 32 into top and bottom sections. As shown in FIG. 6, the projections are defined by inwardly impressed dimples and reduce the inner marginal space to firmly retain the pictorial matter in position between the folded sections 34 and 36.

Since the leaf members 32 are adapted to be pivotally mounted between the front and rear covers 12 and 14, the plating thereof would normally cause the hinges to harden, which would thereby prevent the hinges from being easily -bent around the hinge pin 31. This eventually would result in faulty operation of the device or in shearing of the leaf member hinge element. The present invention avoids this prior difficulty by providing a unique hinge construction for the leaf member.V As illustrated in FIG. 4, in the unfolded position of the leaf member 32, the hinge element includes a hinge member S6 to which is joined an outwardly extending hinge finger 8S. Prior to the plating of the leaf mem-ber 32, the hinge member 86 is bent to the position it will normally occupy and, as shown in FIG. 5, is adapted to envelope a major portion of the circumference of the hinge pin but leaving a portion thereof exposed. In the assembly of the front cover 12, rear cover 14 and the leaf members 32, the hinge pin 31 is inserted through the hinge members 28, 36 of the front and rear covers 12, 14, respectively, Iand slidably received within the bent portions of the hinge members 36. As described above, one set of the hinge members, and preferably the hinge members 28 of the front cover 12, are first bent into firm engaging relation with the pin 31 so that the pin is movable therewith. The other hinge member 3] is located in loose fitting engagement around the pin 31 so that relative movement therebetween is provided. After the plating operation and during the assembly of the hinge member S6 on the hinge pin 3l, the relatively small hinge finger 88 is bent to bridge the gap over the hinge pin` defined by the incompletely closed hinge member 86, thereby loosely locking the hinge pin 31 in the bent portion of the hinge member 56. Thus, by utilizing the hinge' linger 88, the hinge member S6 may be'plated in the bent position, while the only element necessary for movement :to loosely lock the hinge member 86'on the hinge'pin, is the relatively small hinge finger 8S. The hinge finger y88 not only provides for simplicity in assembly of the device but fur-ther acts to positively retain the leaf member -32 in the assembly. Since the hinge pin 31 had already been xed to the hinge members of either the front or rear cover, the hinge members 36 may be simply locked on the hinge pin 31 in aligned position with the hinge memlbers 2S and 30 by bending the fingers 38 until they enclose the relatively xed hinge pin 3i. It is understood that the hinge members 85 are pivotally movable on the hinge pin 31 together with the cover member that is loosely mounted thereon, whereas the hinge pin 31 actually rotates with the cover member to which it is secured.

It is seen that the present invention is simple n construction and is economical to manufacture. Moreover, pictorial or illustrative matter may be easily inserted into the interior leaf members and cannot be dislodged due to the location of the opening therefor that faces in the direction of the axial hinge pin 31. Furthermore, the unique hinge construction assures freedom of movement of the leaf members and also enables the leaf members to be easily and simply removed from the hinge pin for repair or replacement as desired.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rer-arrangements of the parts may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except i11- sofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a locket construction, a front cover, a rear cover hingedly joined to said front cover by a hinge pin, at least one interior leaf member connected by hinge portions to said hinge pin and disposed Within the confines of said front and rear covers so that in the closed position thereof said interior leaf member is hidden from View,

said interior leaf member being stamped from blank form to define complementary sections separated by fold lines, each of said sections having at least one window formed therein defined by peripheral margins, foldable edge portions formed on the exterior edges of said sections whereby When said sections are folded along said fold lines said edge portions overlap and cooperate with said peripheral margins to form an interior marginal space having a single exterior marginal opening, said opening facing said hinge pin, said opening receiving illustrative matter therein and said window providing for viewing of said illustrative matter therethrough, one of said sections being foreshortened with respect to the other, so that a marginal shelf is defined adjacent said opening when said sections are located in the folded position thereof, said hinge members being joined to said marginal shelf, said marginal shelf thereby providing a surface for aiding in introducing the illustrative matter through said opening, and a plurality of projections formed on the surface of one of said sections and cooperating with an overlying peripheral margin of the adjacent section to reduce the internal marginal space, said projections firmly retaining said illustrative matter when it is located in said space for effectively retaining said matter therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,394,877 Wood Oct. 25, 1921 1,410,366 Buchman Mar. 2l 1922 1,520,179 Ekman Dec. 23, 1924 2,129,491 Chilson Sept. 6, 1938 2,796,747 Ebert inne 25, 1957 2,863,307 Donle Dec. 9, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 469,285 Great Britain July 22, 1937 539,378 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1941 

